Phenanthrenequinone may be used to produce several chemicals with wide ranging applications. Phenanthrenequinone can be used to synthesize fluorene, which in turn can be used to derive compounds that are being developed and investigated as wake-promoting agents similar to modafinil, and one derivative of fluorene, 9-hydroxyfluorene, is being researched for its medical potential in treating psoriasis and alopecia areata. Other derivatives of fluorine are used to prepare certain dyes such as Victoria Blue, for thermal and light sensitizers, in liquid crystal chemistry and illuminescence chemistry, spectrophotometric analysis and in the formation of organometallic complexes.
Further, derivatives of phenanthrenequinone have uses in electronics and in pharmaceutical as potential antihistamines or antispasmodics, or to increase bioavailability and retention time of some drugs.
Other derivatives of phenanthrenequinone are HFCA and its esters known as “morphactins” because they induce morphological changes in plants. the morphactins regulate plant growth activity by inhibiting auxin transport. Auxin regulates several plant growth processes and treatment with morphactins inhibit seed germination, stem elongation, and the growth and formation of shoot organs. The simplest morphactin is the pesticide HFCA n-butyl ester. It is synthesized similarly to HFCA-methyl ester, but the esterification of n-butanol ester is used in place of methanol. Subsequent chlorination of methyl ester yields monochloro and dichloro esters of HFCA, both of which are called chlorflurenol-methyl ester (CFM), or just chlorflurenol for short. Chlorflurenol is a registered pesticide in the US.
HFCA can be used to synthesize the plant growth regulator HFCA-methyl ester, which in turn, can be used to synthesize yet other plant growth regulators. Chlorflurenol exhibits some unique qualities in growth inhibition and demonstrates herbicidal activity by controlling broadleaf weeds as well as resistant weeds in turf and ornamentals. CHF is also useful for propagating the sucker population of pineapple plants and can increase their typical production rate of 0-3 per plant up to 35 per plant when chlorflurenol is applied at 1 lb. per acre. Chlorflurenol has also been found to control seedhead suppression in both warm and cool season turf grasses. (Unpublished study).
A critical step in the synthesis of many chemical species described above is the synthesis of phenanthrenequinone from phenanthrene.